Upcoming Spending Review (2)

Leonie Cooper: The Government has said that it will announce how it will support councils experiencing reductions in business rates and council tax revenues in the upcoming Spending Review. Do you agree that anything less than a 100% reimbursement of lost income from business rates and council tax would pile further austerity onto local authorities in London?

The Mayor: I agree that the Government should fully compensate councils for the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic to date, including support for lost council tax and business rates revenue. Without certainty over this income, local authorities will have to make short term emergency spending cuts, which will undermine longer-term recovery.
London Councils, in their submission to the Spending Review, estimated local authorities in London (excluding the GLA) would require an additional £1.4 billion; this estimate was made before the further restrictions began on 5 November. Only central government has the resources to fund this scale of support.
In addition, I have called on the Government to extend and fully fund its business rates relief scheme for the retail, leisure, childcare and hospitality sectors into 2021-22, as I outlined in my response to Question 2020/3360.

Shovel-ready green infrastructure projects

Caroline Russell: At the London Assembly plenary on 5 November 2020, co-chair of the London Recovery Board Georgia Gould said: “we identified over a billion pounds of shovel-ready green infrastructure projects which could immediately create jobs in the capital.” Could you provide a list of these shovel-ready projects?

The Mayor: The list of London borough shovel ready projects has been collated by London Councils and they will share directly the list they have developed. This represents shovel-ready borough projects aligned to the Green New Deal mission and which could support a green recovery in 2020/21. Most of these projects require additional funding to realise their full value or to accelerate delivery to support London’s recovery; the current pipeline is worth £1.1 billion. Of this, boroughs require just over £450 million.

Reducing disposable nappy waste

Caroline Russell: How are you reducing the amount of single-use plastic disposable nappy waste ending up in landfill and/or being sent for incineration?

The Mayor: Please refer to my answer to Mayor’s Questions 2020/3832.

Air quality and the Belvedere incinerator

Leonie Cooper: What figures were submitted by the applicant from the new facility and how does this compare with the current facility?

The Mayor: Planning permission for the new Belvedere Incinerator was granted by the government despite the serious objections raised by me and others during the development consent process.
I do not consider that London needs any further waste incinerator capacity to manage the city’s non-recyclable waste if my targets to reduce waste and recycle are met. I have been clear that London is facing a climate emergency and does not need more energy from waste incinerators.
Detailed assessments were submitted by the applicant to the Planning Inspectorate as part of their application, and can be found here: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/london/riverside-energy-park/?ipcsection=docs

Borough partnerships for reusable nappies and period products

Caroline Russell: What plans do you have to encourage London boroughs to partner with midwives and health visitors to communicate to new parents and carers the availability of reusable nappies and period products?

The Mayor: Please refer to my answer to Mayor’s Questions 2020/3832.

Access to green space during lockdown

Nicky Gavron: Will you be doing research into use of public green space, such as parks, and the public’s view of these spaces during both the first and second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic?

The Mayor: Recent polls have indicated that Londoners consider investing in green spaces as one of the top three priorities for a green recovery and around half of Londoners value their local green space more than ever.
Throughout the pandemic Parks for London has gathered evidence on the use of green space and coordinated the sharing of good practice in the management of green spaces by London’s parks services. This has enabled parks services to effectively respond in a more consistent way to the challenges of increased use of green space.
My officers will continue to work closely with Parks for London as it evolves into the new Centre for Excellence recommended by my London Green Spaces Commission. Together we will use further evidence gathered to champion the essential infrastructure and public health role that green space provides to Londoners and start to address the inequalities of access that have been highlighted during the pandemic.

Environmentally Friendly Technologies

David Kurten: The makers of wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles and other supposedly environment-friendly technologies claim that these technologies are ‘green,’ ‘clean’ and ’just.’ Cobalt is an expensive metal used in electric car batteries,costing about $35,000 per ton. Some 59% of all cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Cobalt mining in DRC is often done by children, some as young as seven, with as many as 40,000working in what are reported to be brutal and unsafe conditions1.Is it morally right that the GLA should be developing energy policy, without paying heed to the moral imperatives involved?

1https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/jan/19/children-as-young-as-seven-mining-cobalt-for-use-in-smartphones-says-amnesty

The Mayor: As I said in my reply to Mayor’s Question 2020/2194 back in July,I share the concerns about the reported social, ethical and environmental impacts of making lithium-ion batteries.I wrote both to the Chief Executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and Government Ministers, both to express my concerns and to offer to work together to address them. My Deputy Mayor Shirley Rodrigues has subsequently met withthe Society of Motor Manufacturers and Tradersand officers have joined a Working Group with relevant Government officials. I am determined to meet my zero carbon ambitions for a London in a way that Is environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable.

London Power for all Londoners (1)

Andrew Dismore: Some Londoners, including some of my constituents, are being left ‘energy prisoners’ by the power companies. One has explained that the meter system in his rented accommodation stops him from changing provider or accessing cheaper tariffs. How will you use London Power to address situations like this where Londoners are forced to use more expensive tariffs by power companies?

The Mayor: I set up London Power to provide fair, affordable, green energy for all Londoners. London Power offers competitive tariffs to a range of meter types and does not force customers onto any particular tariff type. None of our tariffs have exit fees, meaning customers are free to switch between them to ensure they are on the cheapest rate for their home.
We would be happy to discuss with your constituent their particular circumstances to see what London Power could do to help. We are not aware of any situations which would prevent a household switching to London Power. If the household is on a district heat network, they may be unable to change their heat provider but would be free to switch their electricity supply. If they have a legacy restricted electricity meter they would still be free to switch but we’d suggest they contact our customer service team to work out what the best options are for them. If they are on a prepayment meter they are free to switch supplier (our prepayment tariff is currently the cheapest on the market), and if they prefer we could discuss switching them to a standard meter.

London Power for all Londoners (3)

Andrew Dismore: Some Londoners, including some of my constituents, are being left ‘energy prisoners’ by the power companies. One has explained that the meter system in his rented accommodation stops him from changing provider or accessing cheaper tariffs. You have previously described London Power as ‘fair, affordable, green energy company specially designed for Londoners’. Could it be better designed so that it includes all Londoners?

The Mayor: As described in Mayor's Question 2020/3942 and Mayor's Question 2020/3943, London Power offers a range of different tariff types for different meters to ensure it is inclusive for all Londoners. No customer should be excluded from London Power based on their meter type. In addition, we have a world-class customer service team – rated 4.8* on Trustpilot – who are happy to discuss any specific difficulties to find a resolution. Whilst the patchwork nature of the UK’s legacy metering system means some households may have historically had difficulty switching, we believe our well-trained customer service team will be able to support all Londoners regardless of their metering set-up.

Green New Deal Update

Leonie Cooper: In your Green New Deal you talk about creating ‘greener and more connected neighbourhoods’. How will this be achieved?

The Mayor: The Green New Mission aims to take action to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies and improve air quality by doubling the size of London's green economy by 2030. Creating greener and connected neighbourhoods is one of the priorities of the Mission. This will be achieved by creating more opportunities for Londoners to walk and cycle, supporting the delivery of zero emission zones, greening the public realm, making it better adapted to climate change, and increasing access to healthy green space.
A Green New Deal mission delivery plan is being co-created with London Councils and stakeholders who can help deliver these outcomes. The plan will also be aligned to other related missions such as the High Streets for All and Healthy Food, Healthy Weight missions. Through the mission, we aim to support a number of exemplar projects which demonstrate best practice in permanent repurposing of streets to promote active travel, reduce vehicle traffic, improve air quality and enhance resilience to climate change. These projects will help people meet most of their needs within a short walk or bike ride from their home, encouraging social cohesion and supporting local businesses and they will showcase the social, health and environmental benefits across the Capital. In addition, the Mayor is providing almost £700,000 in grants to make London greener, fairer, healthier and more resilient to climate change through the Grow Back Greener Fund launched in August.

Air Quality and Wellbeing (1)

Leonie Cooper: The recently produced Centric Lab Urban Health index for London links air quality and wellbeing. Do you agree that there is a link between poor air quality and mental and emotional wellbeing?

The Mayor: I agree there is ever growing evidence linking air pollution to poor mental health and other stress related conditions.
In September 2020 I published a review of the evidence base in relation to air pollution and human health. This review highlighted that developing areas of research include the impacts of air pollution on cognitive decline, dementia and mental health.
Most of the health evidence relates to particulate matter, and PM2.5 in particular, although more evidence is emerging on ultra-fine particles.
Policies in my London Environment Strategy to reduce air pollution are expected to result in the avoidance of around 300,000 new cases of NO2 and PM2.5 related disease and 1.2 million new air pollution related hospital admissions London-wide and save the NHS £5 billion by 2050.
More information can be found in the report here: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/air_quality_health_evidence_review_final_sept20_clean.pdf